Sunday, July 5: First of our two-day R & R stint in Denver at Drew’s house. And just like yesterday, that internal clock would not let me sleep beyond 5:30 AM no matter how much I wanted to sleep in late. Right now Judy, Andrew & Bill are doing an early morning ride out to the Cherry Creek Reservoir. I on the other hand, I just want to go “binkingless” for the second day, although we did ride a couple miles yesterday to do breakfast at one of Andrew’s favorite little haunts. I forget the name of the place, but I’d eaten the Breakfast Burrito there last year when I came out to do recon, and it’s a winner. Ditto this second time around. 

Again, I’m a day late in posting, but it just feels so good to be off the schedule for this short stint. Yesterday was more a matter of getting everything back in order again. I totally cleaned that poor van out, using the vacuum to pull out weeks worth of dust, sand and gravel, and wiping down the interior with wet wash rags. Then I pulled out gear that I’ll be storing here at Drew’s for the remainder of our trip. The canoe stays here, same for the collapsable bike. The 26er mt bike is staying here (taking a chance here but so far that 29er is making it work in sandbur country) more because Bill will be with us and we need room for his 29er duelie. Also leaving a cooler and bin filled with canoe gear. Repacked the van with three people’s worth of gear and that gig was done. 

Then I moved on to changing the bars back out on my 29er, taking off the sawed off shorties that I had Steve make me for the narrow trail and bushwhack riding back in OH, IN, and IL. I put the regular longer bars back on. And whoo, what a wonderful feeling to have my shoulders opened back up again. No more “cramped” feeling on the bars. While Bill and I were doing all this busy work with van and bikes, Drew had taken Judy out for a nice ride on the Cherry Creek Bike and Hike trail. Made me feel pretty good to see Judy out there having some fun for a change, and she remarked later in the day that she actually felt like she was on a vacation for once. THAT is how much of a grind this trip has been on her! And as I’ve said several times in the blog here, I think what she’s been doing is equally as hard as what I’ve been doing. That why I had decided to take 2 days off rather than just one. One day away from American Dirt is just like a “taster”. It’s just so fleeting. Two days at least gives you a bit more breathing room. 

I do have to take the van in today for an oil change, and I’m going to get the alignment checked. I’ve got a right front tire that seems to be wearing a bit more on the outer edge than the left front. I just want to make sure there’s no alignment issues here. Kind of holding my breath on this one as I did with that wheel-bearing issue, hoping that I don’t have any worn or trashed ball joints or bushings. BUT, it really needs to be done if only to give me peace of mind. God, it’s SO much easier just riding across the country unsupported! Those were the good old days. This supported thing just has a myriad of issues that muddy the waters when all you want to do is ride a bike. 

I cooked up a Thai spaghetti dinner last evening after we watched the Women’s World Cup Finals down at the Abby Pub, a nice little local watering hole three blocks from Drew’s house. With the help of Judy and Drew the grillmeister, we had a great dinner out on his patio. And that was pretty much the day. I’ll sign off for now. Hope everyone had a great 4th this past weekend, and I look forward to seeing all my family, friends and clients 4 wks down the road from now. Take care……Pete